After defeating the Pacers, the Bulls gradually got back on track.
By the end of January, they had returned to fourth place in the Eastern Conference, and the gap in wins with the third-placed Raptors had narrowed to two games.
It was at this time that the results of the All-Star voting and the substitute lineup were released one after another.
Eastern Conference starting lineup: Paul, Wade, Xu Yong, Anthony, James
Substitutes: John Wall, Irving, George, DeRozan, Millsap, Bosh, Anthony Davis
Western Conference starting lineup: Curry, Kobe*, Durant, Griffin, Love
Substitutes: Parker, Lillard, Harden, Aldridge, Nowitzki, Noah, Howard, (Leonard)
There are many things worth noting about the voting results this year. For example, Curry was selected to the All-Star Game for the first time in his career with an average of 24 points, 4.3 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and he started as a starter as soon as he was selected.
In the five seasons since Curry entered the league, his three-point shooting percentage has reached 44%, and in the last two seasons, his three-point shooting average has been close to 8 times per game.
Curry has demonstrated a rare three-point talent in history by maintaining a stable hit rate after increasing his output.
The Warriors are undoubtedly the biggest winners because after Curry suffered a serious injury and was ruled out for the season in 2011-2012, they offered Curry a four-year, $44 million contract at the end of the season and completed an early contract extension. With the increase in the salary cap, this is already a child labor contract that is visibly a child labor contract.
For example, although Kobe has only played 6 games this season and is still injured, he was still selected as an All-Star starter.
However, Kobe has announced that he will not be able to play in the All-Star Game. His starting position will be replaced by Harden, while Leonard will be selected as an All-Star as a substitute. This is also the first time the latter has been selected to the All-Star Game in his career.
In addition to the list of players for the main competition, the list of players for individual events was also announced, among which the list for the three-point shooting contest attracted much attention.
Because in addition to Curry, who has the highest voice, Xu Yong's name also appeared.
This instantly drew the fans' full attention to the individual events.
Compared to James, who called for his participation in the dunk contest for six years before finally participating, Xu Yong's participation without any hype was a complete surprise to the fans.
With Yi Jianlian's departure and Yao Ming's retirement, the Bulls' halo as the Chinese national team has faded and the whistles have gradually returned to normal. Against this backdrop, he regarded the league's invitation to him as "protection money" for the team.
Moreover, he is the only Bulls player selected for the main competition this season. His main focus is on participation, but he does have some ideas about the three-point contest.
His three-point shooting level is not low. When he was at Arizona State University, he even made 7 three-pointers on the spot. He was also very efficient in his first two years as a rookie.
However, with Rose's injury, he started to hold the ball more often, and his three-point shots decreased significantly. With fewer shots, his output and ability naturally decreased.
However, this season, as Butler diluted the ball possession, his off-ball offense ratio has increased and his three-point ability has returned a lot.
This time the All-Star Game was held in New Orleans, and Xu Yong took Adams with him. The latter was successfully selected for the Rookie Game with his outstanding performance in the past period of time.
Of course this time it's not just the two of them, there's also agent Schwartz.
Every year at the All-Star Game, Xu Yong is always one of the busiest players.
In addition to promoting his STX series of sneakers, Schwartz also negotiated a big contract for him.
He will replace Robert Pattinson (who plays vampire Edward in "Twilight") as the face of Dior Cologne for men.
Pattinson signed the endorsement contract with Dior in 2011. The contract was for 3 years and 12 million, and it expired this summer.
This time, Xu Yong signed a three-year, 25 million yuan endorsement contract with them. He will become the highest-paid spokesperson for cologne in history.
As for why Dior was so anxious and even finalized the contract in advance, it was because he was afraid that Xu Yong would be poached by his competitors.
After all, Xu Yong is very popular now, and he has the huge Chinese market behind him. Of course, the most important thing is that he is good-looking.
After all, it's hard to imagine James endorsing cologne.
They went to Dior's New Orleans branch.
As soon as he entered, Xu Yong saw a familiar poster in the glass window in the corridor.
Charlize Theron.
Theron has been the face of Dior Women's fragrances since 2004.
Xu Yong has some special feelings for Charlize Theron when she was young. After all, when he just entered puberty, Charlize Theron was at the peak of her popularity.
Sexy and mature, yet very dignified. It is rare to find someone who can combine these two temperaments together.
Especially the Dior advertisement with water splashing out of it, which was the most stunning advertisement he had ever seen.avi.
Moreover, Saihuang is very dedicated to her career. The movie "Mad Max: Fury Road" completely overturned Xu Yong's perception of her.
And he remembered the last time he saw Charlize Theron at the Staples Center. [South African Diamonds] really never get old.
The signing of the agency contract went smoothly. Although it was at a branch company, most of the senior executives of Gulong Perfume were present, which clearly showed their importance to Xu Yong.
After signing the contract, Xu Yong went to AJ's event.
When Xu Yong arrived, Butler was already there.
Thanks to his outstanding performance this season, Butler was also won by AJ. Like Xu Yong back then, he was promoted as a rookie.
But since he doesn't have to participate in the main competition this year, he can basically go back tomorrow, um, as he said before, to go on vacation with Brown.
On the second day of the All-Star Game, Xu Yong appeared on the sidelines early.
Not long after he sat down, Harden brought Curry to sit next to him.
An interesting thing is that this was the first time in Curry's career that he was selected as an All-Star starter, causing many people to overlook the fact that he was actually in the same class as Xu Yong and Harden.
When they were at the joint tryout in Chicago, they were all chatting and laughing.
But now Curry is a rookie in the All-Star Game, and Xu Yong already feels a bit like Uncle Curry.
Xu Yong also saw Jordan in the back row.
The two of them occasionally contacted each other via text messages, but they only met last summer when they were discussing the brand, which was more than half a year ago.
But this does not hinder their current friendship, and Jordan even stood up and came to the front row.
After hugging Xu Yong, he just looked at Harden and made him give up his seat on his own initiative.
"Where is Chicago ranked in the Eastern Conference now?" Jordan asked after sitting down.
"Fourth." Xu Yong replied. Jordan should be busy with other things recently and has not paid much attention to the league games.
"Charlotte is sixth," Jordan continued.
Xu Yong was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
It had been so long since I last chatted with Jordan that he didn't react immediately.
"The Bobcats have a good chance of returning to the playoffs this season." He nodded. The last time the Bobcats made the playoffs was four years ago.
"I know Kemba (Walker) will become an All-Star." Jordan had a proud expression on his face. If he hadn't been there, he would have been unable to resist smoking a cigar to prove that he was also a unique basketball god in terms of his vision for draft picks.
Xu Yong just smiled.
Kemba Walker is indeed the most successful case in Jordan's draft career, but it is also the only case.
You have to know that the Hornets have had top ten lottery picks in recent years, including Michael Gilchrist, the No. 2 pick in 2012, and Cody Zeller, the No. 4 pick in 2013. Both of them did not live up to their draft position. The only one who performed well was Walker, the No. 9 pick in 2011. It is easy to conclude that Jordan was probably confused when he chose Walker.
"But the atmosphere in the league is too bad now." Jordan then frowned.
"You mean Al (Jefferson)?"
"Do you think Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis deserve to be All-Stars?" Jordan did not answer, but looked at Xu Yong and asked back.
Xu Yong shook his head: “If I were the coach, I would give Al a vote.”
He disagreed with what Jordan said before, but he agreed with Jefferson on this point.
In addition to Curry and Leonard, the newcomers who deserve attention in this year's All-Star Game, there is also a big controversy, that is, the selection of the Cavaliers twin stars.
The Cavaliers are now ranked tenth in the Eastern Conference, but they have two players selected for the bench.
Irving averaged 20.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while Davis averaged 20.8 points, 10 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.8 blocks per game.
The Hornets are ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference, and their core player Al Jefferson averaged 21.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 blocks, and a 50.9% shooting percentage.
Leaving aside Irving, Jefferson and Davis are in the same competitive position. With little difference in statistics and a clear advantage in overall record, he clearly deserves an All-Star spot this year.
You have to know that this is a substitute selection, not voted by fans, but voted by the coach.
Fans can say that they play better, but you, as a coach, can't say that you chose Davis because he is a local center who only appears once in fifty years in the eyes of the media, right?
"But on the bright side, Al can make the playoffs this year, while they will probably just have to go fishing," Xu Yong continued.
Jordan was a little unhappy at first, but after hearing what Xu Yong said, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Chatting with Xu Yong always makes people happy both physically and mentally until the last moment.
Xu Yong also smiled. Jordan played a big role in promoting STX's independent brand.
But after a while, he suddenly stopped smiling and his face became serious.
He suddenly remembered something.
Is it true that the Cavaliers won’t make the playoffs this year?
He had the impression that the Cavaliers had a very small chance of winning the No. 1 pick one year, although he couldn't remember which year it was, but that hadn't happened yet.
With the Pelicans still able to make the playoffs this season (Stern has been waiting for the opportunity to make up for New Orleans' No. 1 pick), this means that this year's No. 1 pick is likely to still be the Cavaliers.
This year's favorite for the No. 1 pick is Wiggins, and from what we know about history, he was traded by the Cavaliers for Love.
That’s right, Love is the starter of this season’s Western Conference All-Star Game and will most likely be on the second team at the end of the season.
Does this mean that the Cavaliers may be able to form a lineup of Irving, James, Love, and Davis?
If the Big Three doesn’t work, then… the Big Four?
These are true four-star players, and they are all proven All-Star teammates suitable for James.
And because the salary cap is about to skyrocket in 2016 (Davis' rookie contract ends in the summer of 2016), this lineup can be maintained.
I thought this season's Pacers would be the best team James has ever been on, but I didn't expect that a better team is about to emerge with the naked eye.
The competitiveness of this team may even exceed that of the previous Bulls.
Tsk, why are Irving and Davis so bad that they can't even make it to the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
I can only hope that Gilbert can be tougher. James treated you like that back then, so don’t let him go back this time.
While they were chatting, the individual competitions on the field continued, and soon it was time for the three-point contest.
"Can we make it to the finals?" Jordan asked, looking at the court.
"It won't be lower than 6 points." Xu Yong said, and stood up to prepare to go on stage.
Jordan was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding why Xu Yong, who had spoken so nicely just before, suddenly became unlovable.
There is a very important change in this year's three-point contest. The [Advantage Point] has been added, which means that you can choose a point to place 5 flower balls, which increases the full score from the original 30 points to 34 points.
And this year, like last year, the teams are divided into the East and West divisions. They will first compete internally, and then the people with the highest scores in the preliminaries on both sides will compete in the 1-on-1 finals.
This competition system has greater randomness than in the past, and of course it is also more exciting.
The highlights this year are Curry and Xu Yong, and it depends on whether the two can make it through the preliminaries.
However, after the preliminary round, although Xu Yong did score higher than 6 points and 16 points, he was still defeated by Bill's 18 points; Curry also scored 16 points, but lost to Belinelli's 19 points. Both of them lost.
After the preliminaries, the reporter interviewed the two of them in an entertaining manner.
“My goal for next year is to make the final.”
Xu Yong's answer immediately made the scene boil, because it meant that Xu Yong would continue to participate in the three-point shooting contest next year.
"Me too." Curry on the side also nodded in agreement.
"I will also participate next year." At this moment, Harden also leaned into the camera.
Stern was laughing happily in the stands at this time and couldn't help but give chicken legs to the three people.
The finals haven't even started yet, but they've already hyped up next year's competition.
In the final, Bill and Belinelli had a fierce competition. The two shot a tie of 19 points. Then in the final, Belinelli won the first three-point shooting contest championship after the reform with 24 points.
The last day was the All-Star Game. There was an episode before the game because it happened to be Bill Russell’s birthday. Led by the DJ, the whole audience sang a birthday song for "The Lord of the Rings". This scene was quite warm.
Then during the main competition, Xu Yong noticed a very detailed detail, that is, James was traveling during off-peak hours.
The head coach of the Eastern Conference team this year is Vogel, so James can play whenever he wants.
Of course, this was not what surprised Xu Yong. After all, he had known James for so long, so what surprised him was that James did not go out with him.
What surprised him was that James was actually taking the initiative to pass the ball to Irving and Davis.
And at the end of the game, the Eastern team defeated the Western team 160-159, Irving scored 31 points and won the All-Star Game MVP.
It's hard not to think about this.
Xu Yong even had the feeling that James had already hooked up with Gilbert.
However, after he realized this, he felt that things became interesting.
If they can beat the Cavaliers and win the Eastern Conference title, let alone the championship, this title will definitely be the most valuable in history.
And if the Big Four still can't break out of the East, James might really be abandoned by Nike.
After all, 2015 was the year when James' contract with Nike ended.
Just thinking about this makes me full of motivation.
…
After the All-Star Game, Xu Yong returned to Chicago.
There are a few days of rest after the All-Star Game, and then the annual trade deadline comes.
When Xu Yong came back, he saw Butler training there. It was naturally impossible for him to go on vacation with Brown or something.
However, just a few days later, when Xu Yong and Butler were having breakfast, Brown came back.
He was still recovering from surgery and recuperating at home in Washington, but I didn't expect him to come back at this time.
"I'm going to Philadelphia." Brown came in and reported to Xu Yong.
Hearing this, Xu Yong did not seem very surprised, because it is highly likely that Brown will be traded, and he may not go to Philadelphia as he said. He may be cut if he goes there. After all, he can't play this season.
"Go over there and recuperate." Xu Yong stood up and gave Brown a hug.
Brown is a bit unlucky. He dedicated all his highlights to the Bulls, but he was absent from any of the Bulls' championship seasons.
This is the same as Dampier back then, which is somewhat like a "champion insulator".
However, he has been holding on during the Bulls' most difficult two years, and this contribution is indelible.
Brown packed up his things and left the villa.
Xu Yong and his friends then took out their mobile phones to look at the details of the transaction.
The Bulls sent Kwame Brown, Morris Jr. and two future second-round picks to the Digital Man team for Spibin Hawes.
Xu Yong was surprised when he saw Hawes's name.
This is a seemingly unequal deal, as Hawes is the starting center for the Numbers Man, averaging 13 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists per game this season, with a 39.9% three-point shooting percentage.
The Bulls' bargaining chip, Morris Jr., was acquired with the first round pick last season. The Bulls essentially used a first round plus two second round picks to get him.
Theoretically, this amount of chips is not enough.
But once he sorted out the details, everything made sense.
First of all, Hawes' contract will expire this summer, so his trading value is not as high as the data shows, because he will be a completely free agent after his contract expires, and other teams may only get the right to use him for half a year in a trade.
Secondly, there was another transaction before this, that is, the Digital Man team traded Holiday with the Kings and got the opponent's No. 6 pick Lawrence Noel (who has not played a game yet) and a first-round draft pick protected in the top five next year.
Because Digital Man's record this season has deteriorated instead of improved, Philadelphia Supermarket officially opened, and Digital Man's new general manager Sam Hinkie began the [Process].
Then everything makes sense. The Digital People have sold their current top player Holiday, and they also need to train Noel next season. Naturally, they have no reason to keep Hawes.
Foreman seized the best opportunity and took down Hawes under extreme circumstances.
Why say limit, because this is basically the maximum bargaining chip the Bulls can offer.
After looking at this deal, it is already a very significant reinforcement for the Bulls, because Hawes is another space inside player after Yi Jianlian, who can bring real tactical reinforcement to the Bulls.
After all, although Adams performed well, as a rookie, there are still many unknowns about how he will perform in the playoffs.
And after reading this deal, Xu Yong discovered that the Bulls had another small big deal and signing.
Foreman traded Teague to the Nets for a player named Tornak Shengelia.
Xu Yong had no impression of him at all. According to the introduction, he was a 2.06-meter power forward, the 54th pick in the 2011 draft, and from Georgia.
Just by looking at the type, you can tell that this is a standard European shooting power forward.
However, if he has no impression of this person at all, then this person probably did not achieve anything famous in the NBA.
This is normal. After all, Teague played so badly this season and his trading value is very limited.
Then because Anderson is more suitable to play the power forward position, Shengelia who was exchanged for him is also used as the third forward.
The next signing also confirmed this.
The Bulls signed Roger Mason, who was cut by the Kings.
Mason is a 1.96-meter shooting guard. His career highlight was with the Spurs. When Ginobili and Parker were injured one after another, he took up the responsibility of the Spurs' outside shooting.
His specialty is that he can shoot three-pointers, but his shortcoming is that only three-pointers are reliable.
But his being cut shows that he doesn't have much gas in his tank. This signing, like Shengelia, is also supplementary.
In other words, in this series of operations, only Hawes can be included in the rotation, and the rest can just wait and see.
"Steven recently said he wanted to find a house in the city, closer to the stadium." Butler said at this time.
"Let him come." Xu Yong put down his phone and knew what Butler meant.
Speaking of which, this team, from O'Neal, to Butler/Yi Jianlian, to Butler/Brown, and now Butler/Adams, has witnessed the changes of the Bulls over the years.
…
Two days after the transaction was completed, Xu Yong met the three new players in the team locker room.
Then he was attracted to Hawes at first sight.
First, Hawes is very tall, at 2.16 meters tall, taller than Adams.
The second is his hairstyle.
There is a very unique iron tower shape behind his head.jpg.
If you didn't know he was American, it would have looked like the Eiffel Tower.
Hawes is very talkative and started chatting with others soon after entering the locker room.
This is a good thing, because at this point in the season, there is not much time left for new players to get used to the game.
In the blink of an eye, a month has passed and the season is coming to an end.
It's been a bit of an up and down month for the Bulls.
It was mostly Hawes's problem.
Although he seems to have a good personality, Hawes is not willing to be a substitute in his contract year, so he has a strong desire to shoot on the court.
But he only likes to shoot from the outside, and if he misses, his opponents will catch him and counterattack.
His performance mainly highlights the difference between theory and reality.
After all, players are not machines and have their own considerations.
Kobe's invention of "double-teaming contract-year players" is not without reason.
Then in a training session, Xu Yong rarely broke out during team training.
He grabbed Hawes on both ends of the court and beat him directly.
Because the only advantage that Hoyes has over Xu Yong is his height, but this guy doesn't like to go inside since he entered the league, so there is no option of backing up in the low post.
Seeing that Hoyes was somewhat unconvinced, Xu Yong led the bench team to beat the substitute team that Hoyes was in, and then let Hoyes go to the starting team, and continued to beat the starting team.
After these three quarters, the other players of the Bulls were a little depressed, and Hawes was directly defeated.
Especially when he tried to play one-on-one against Xu Yong in the last quarter, he was blocked by Xu Yong.
And after completing all this, Xu Yong trash-talked him: "Let me clarify now, people outside say that you are soft, and they are absolutely right."
Hoyes's face flushed red. He was actually the same as Noah back then, a bit of a prick. He was not afraid on the court, but he didn't dare to refute at this moment, because if he offended Xu Yong in the Bulls, he would definitely suffer the consequences.
Then after that training session, Hoyce suddenly became much more obedient.
But the interesting thing is that Thibodeau watched the whole process from the sidelines and witnessed Hawes's embarrassing process.
Theoretically, after Xu Yong treated Hawes like this, he should have DNP, or at least reduced Hawes' playing time.
However, he did not do so. Instead, he increased Hawes' playing time in subsequent games.
This touched Hawes a lot. He knew his mistakes and then became braver. He played much more reasonably than before and greatly increased the Bulls' inside depth.
Finally, in a game at the end of the season, he played the representative game of his career against the Heat.
As this game did not affect the rankings, many main players on both sides rested. Xu Yong, Butler and Adams from the Bulls did not play, while Wade, Granger and Bosh from the Heat also chose to rest.
As a result, this game became the masterpiece of Hawes' career.
He finally scored a near quadruple-double of 18 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists and 7 blocks, becoming the first player in the league to achieve this statistic in 23 years since Olajuwon.
And it is worth mentioning that he was facing the famous Roy Hibbert.
This feeling is just like when Yang Hansen of the CBA beat Wang Zhelin. Although Hibbert also scored 25 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks, he only made 9 of 26 shots and was obviously suppressed.
However, there was a very interesting scene on the sidelines. Xu Yong, wearing a suit, applauded Hawes' performance several times during the game.
After the game, Hawes excitedly hugged head coach Thibodeau in the player tunnel.
If it weren't for Thibodeau's constant trust, he would have no chance to perform like this.
You know, such a game will be very helpful for him to get a big contract in the summer.
However, Thibodeau remained calm and said afterwards: "The person you should thank the most is not me, but Xu."
Hoyes looked puzzled, and that's when Thibodeau explained the reason.
It turned out that after beating Hawes, Xu Yong found Thibodeau, hoping that Thibodeau would not abandon Hawes because of what he had done.
The reason is actually very simple, because Xu Yong knows that Hawes is not the kind of wimp that the outside world says he is.
A wimp won't average close to 1.5 blocks per game for several seasons in a row.
Hawes's strengths and weaknesses are very obvious. As for his strengths, he is accurate in three-point shooting and has good space in the interior. Since he has been a point guard since he was a child, his dribbling and passing are rare among big men.
In terms of shortcomings, there is no inside attack and it is relatively slow.
So to sum up, if he is the starting center, Hawes is easy to be targeted, but as a backup center, he is the best version that the Bulls can find.
Because although he has no inside offense, the Bulls only value his spatial ability and do not need to attack in the low post. This is like Rodman. The Bulls signed him for his defense and rebounding.
As for being slow and easy to be targeted, this is a common problem for most big men in the interior. At least he has rim protection.
Therefore, the fundamental problem of Hoyes is his mentality. Xu Yong and Thibodeau's actions are aimed at his mentality.
After learning the truth, Hawes was surprised and went back to the locker room to apologize to Xu Yong.
Xu Yong didn't say anything, but stood up and gave him a big hug.
Many players in their contract years are like cows. When they see the statistics, it’s like seeing a red cloth. They can’t be stopped.
The fact that Hawes was able to pull himself back means he can still be saved.
In fact, if you want a big contract in a contract year, it is easiest to hit stats, which is also human nature.
But it is definitely not okay to hurt the team because of this.
Besides, NBA managers are not stupid. Especially as data analysis becomes more and more advanced, they can tell the difference between fake data and real data.
This is why a player who can still contribute double digits per game will suddenly disappear from the league, while another inside player who contributes 5 points and 3 rebounds can stay in the league.
If Hawes plays well, the contract he can get will not be worse than the one he gets for putting up stats.